


Victory Garden

by glim



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Gardens & Gardening, M/M, Pre-Captain America: The First Avenger, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-20
Updated: 2017-06-20
Packaged: 2018-11-16 07:41:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11249313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glim/pseuds/glim
Summary: Bucky thinks about the feel of the earth beneath his hands, of Steve's fingers tracing the delicate edges of green, growing plants, of the little catch in his chest that he gets when Steve smiles at him.Bucky and Steve plant a garden in 1940s Brooklyn.





	Victory Garden

**Author's Note:**

  * For [slightlytookish](https://archiveofourown.org/users/slightlytookish/gifts), [R00bs_Teacup](https://archiveofourown.org/users/R00bs_Teacup/gifts).



Though a chill still clings to the wind that skirts around the neighborhoods of Brooklyn, Bucky can tell that spring is on its way. The rawness in the early evening air has lost the sharpness present through the winter months and beneath the chill is the scent of new, damp earth and green, growing things. 

Bucky turns his coat collar up against the wind anyway and shoves his hands in his pockets. He'll be warmed up by the time he gets to the five-and-dime, and he can sling an arm around Steve to keep him warm, too, without worrying about the chill getting to him anymore. 

It's a cool, clear early springtime evening, right before the stores all close; it's a Thursday, too, and Bucky had done some overtime that morning, which means he's able to get off work the same time Steve does. These are his favorite days: the ones when his and Steve's lives manage to match up the right way. Steve's going to walk him home tonight, and they'll get up at the same time tomorrow, maybe go out after work, and they both have the weekend off, two long days stretching out in front of them. 

Steve's already waiting outside the five-and-dime, grinning. He nods at the store's windows when Bucky approaches and grins again when Bucky stops to admire his work. 

"They don't know how lucky they are to have you." Bucky rests a hand on Steve's shoulder as he takes in the way Steve's decorated the windows in artfully lettered advertisements for the weekly specials. 

"I'm just happy not be in the back stocking shelves this week." Steve leans into the touch and the press of his shoulder against Bucky's hand is warm and firm for a few seconds. 

Neither of them say it, but they both know it's not the lifting boxes that was bothering Steve so much, but the dust. Somehow, that's more embarrassing for Steve, having to admit he'd spent half his time at work trying not to cough. 

Bucky gives Steve's work one more long look, then starts to urge him along the sidewalk. If things were different, he'd probably take Steve's hand in his own, or lean in close and kiss him quick and sweet on the lips. They'll have to wait until they get home, but god, Bucky's proud enough of how talented Steve is that he wants to kiss him so bad. 

"Hey," Steve says, and he shivers against the wind before Bucky slings that arm around him. "I got paid today. Sort of." 

"On a Thursday? You get a bonus for bein' so good?" 

"Kind of?" 

Bucky laughs, not because Steve isn't that good at the sign lettering or even the shelf stocking, but because nobody in their neighborhood can afford to give bonuses. He rubs Steve's back when he shivers again, and matches his own steps to Steve's. 

"Okay, what'd they give you? Food? Canned stuff?" 

"No, though we might have some extra stuff at the end of the month." Steve rifles in one coat pocket and comes up with a small, paper packet that he's folded over in one corner. "The package ripped, but it's still okay." 

Bucky takes the packet when Steve hands it over and squints at the rumpled paper. "Seeds?" 

"Seeds." 

Steve looks excited, so Bucky takes it in stride. 

"Nothing wrong with getting paid in seeds, but we ain't got anywhere to plant them." 

Steve looks a degree more excited, so Bucky takes that in stride, too, and by taking it in stride, he stops on the sidewalk and gives Steve a long, careful look. 

"Wait. That's your bonus? Not the seeds?" 

Steve nods. His blue eyes look extra bright and blue in the spring sunset and Bucky feels his breath catch in his chest. There isn't anything in the world as pretty as Steve is right now, with his bright eyes and his proud smile and his dark blond hair, and the way he flicks it out of his face to smile up at Bucky. 

"We'll go tomorrow, when you're done with work," Steve says and he leans in against Bucky again. "To look at the plot and to see how much we can plant. I got tomato and bean seeds from work." 

"Yeah, we can do that. We have to get home right now, though." 

"Yeah?" 

"Oh, yeah," Bucky says. He tries to give Steve a subtle look, but Steve catches him off guard by looking at him first, soft smile on his face, just as he licks the tip of his tongue over his bottom lip. 

They walk home rather quickly after that.

*

"Christ, _Steven_ ," Bucky says, his morning voice rough and low as he tries to wake up. "S'good..." 

"Yeah, baby?" Steve's still kissing the back of Bucky's neck, small, quiet kisses that alternate between warm and ticklish. His hand curls around the curve of Bucky's hip and he makes a soft, affectionate sound when Bucky yawns into the pillow. "It's Friday morning. Wake up. I want to leave early and walk you to work." 

Bucky buries his face into the pillow and settles into the feeling of Steve's body pressed along his back. He's still kissing Bucky, stroking his hip, and murmuring against his skin. 

They only have a few minutes for this sort of quiet affection and Steve makes the most of it. He kisses Bucky on the ear, then the corner of his jaw, and then on his mouth about a half-dozen times over when Bucky turns to face him. 

Tomorrow, Bucky will run his hands down Steve's sides to his narrow hips and pull him even closer, kiss him back until they're both needy. Tomorrow, they'll be able to spend the whole morning in bed together. 

This morning, he touches Steve's face and leans up into the slow kisses. "You want breakfast?" 

Steve nods. His hair is tousled and he's wearing one of Bucky's old undershirts for his pajama top. "I want--yeah, breakfast, that's good, too." 

Bucky cannot help but smile at Steve and wrap an arm around him to keep him close for a few more moments. Steve gives a little sigh and Bucky tucks his face into the crook of Steve's neck. "Toast and coffee, sweetheart?" 

Steve nods again, and soon the morning is upon them. Toast, black coffee, work clothes, and quick kisses in the kitchen. Steve sits in Bucky's lap while he eats to make sure Bucky finishes his breakfast despite his own still sitting unfinished, and reminds Bucky, between kisses, about their tiny garden waiting for them after work. 

*

Steve's outside the tailor shop fifteen minutes before Bucky's able to leave, and waits inside by the door while Bucky finishes up his work. Once they're outside, Steve nudges his shoulder against Bucky's arm and smiles. 

"I think we can walk up that way, towards home, and then head toward that open lot. It's all gardens now." 

"Alright. You know where to look for it?"

Steve nods and pulls a scrap of paper from his pocket that he hands over to Bucky, much like he had the seeds. His shoulder keeps knocking against Bucky as they walk, until Bucky's had enough and he drapes his arm around Steve. 

"Annoying," he mutters. 

Steve says nothing, but flicks a smile at Bucky from beneath his hair when Bucky glances at him. The evening is cooler and cloudier than yesterday, but the damp, fresh scent of springtime lingers in the air, and grows stronger as they near the garden plots. 

Steve leads Bucky along a narrow walkway between the plots to a small, empty rectangle of earth. They both look at it for a moment, and then Bucky lets out a quiet 'oh' when Steve squeezes his hand. 

They have an apartment together, and now they have a garden plot. 

*

It takes a few weeks, and a few more weekends than Bucky predicted, but eventually they also have a garden. A garden with tiny green plants that Steve weeds with delicate care. 

Bucky does the weeding and watering, too, especially when Steve's work week is too long for him to feel up to tackling the garden during the week. He always goes along with Bucky, though, and sometimes sketches the gardens growing around them while Bucky tends their own small one. 

"Look, that's actually looking like a tomato plant." Bucky can't help but beam at the tiny leaves forcing their way up out of the ground. 

"It really doesn't, Buck." Steve shakes his head and kneels down closer to the ground. "It looks good, though, right?" 

"Sure it does." 

Steve reaches out with one fingertip to touch a leaf and gives the plant one of his bright-eyed smiles. 

*

By the time the weather's warm, they have plants that are visibly tomato and bean plants. The couple in the neighboring plot are growing carrots, beets, and lettuce, and somehow Bucky charms his way into agreeing to trade produce with them when they've both come up with too much of their own. 

The best part, though, is the quiet of the garden, and the way the dirt feels on his hands and the sun on the back of his neck, the curve of Steve's body as he leans down to tend the plants, and the way the sun catches the light in his eyes when he looks up at Bucky. 

Having fresh food should probably be the best part, but Bucky can't shake the feeling that comes over him when he watches Steve or when he stands up from pulling weeds or picking tomatoes. Maybe the fresh food is the best, but all those warm moments come a very, very close second. 

*

"I can take a walk and sit in the sun for a while," Steve says and glares at Bucky. He has a stuffy nose and sore throat, symptoms of a summer cold he's determined to shake before his birthday. 

Bucky hesitates. He wants to keep Steve at home, where he can at least attempt to persuade Steve to nap on the sofa, since Bucky knows he won't go sleep in bed during the day. God, he probably wouldn't even take a nap, unless Bucky stretches out there first and claims he's not feeling so great, either. 

"Well, I know you aren't going to let me stop you--"

"--damn right," Steve mutters. 

Bucky ignores the way Steve sniffles and coughs, but strokes his hair anyway. "So we'll go down together, and whatever we can pick today, I'm throwing into soup for your cold." 

"It's too hot for soup." Steve coughs again and takes his glass of water from the table by the sofa. 

"Then you can eat it cold. Or hot, I don't care. You're having soup." 

Steve sighs, but it's settled. They'll go out for the afternoon, and then they'll have soup for dinner. 

The sun and hot food must do Steve some good in the end, because he spends most of the time after dinner curled up against Bucky's side. He starts out filling in some of his sketches, and then drowses against Bucky while Bucky reads. After a while, Bucky gets up to turn on the radio, and Steve stays awake for _Truth or Consequences_. He even drinks the cup of mint tea Bucky makes for him, then rests his head back against Bucky after he changes the station so they can listen to music. 

"You'll feel better in a couple days," Bucky says. 

Steve nods against him. "I know. M'just tired." 

The evening's warm, and Steve's even warmer against his side, enough so that once Steve's asleep, Bucky lets his eyes drift shut to the sound of the music on the radio. 

*

"Steve," Bucky says before he's really awake, "it's too damn hot." 

Steve laughs, deep and throaty, and he nuzzles along Bucky's bare shoulder. "It's my birthday, baby..." 

Bucky lets out a tired, put upon sigh. Not only is it already hot, but it's probably barely past sunrise on a day off. The thought takes a few sleepy seconds to click, but when it does, Bucky smiles and starts to lean into the touch. 

Steve's birthday, a full day off from work, cake and celebrations, and Steve, all to himself for most of the day. 

Bucky thinks about the feel of the earth beneath his hands, of Steve's fingers tracing the delicate edges of green, growing plants, of the little catch in his chest that he gets when Steve smiles at him. 

Before he's sure he's awake, Bucky shifts so that he's facing Steve and that he can run a hand down from Steve's shoulder to his hip. 

A smile blooms on Steve's face and there, Bucky sees it, the same light that catches Steve's eyes and the same warmth that he feels on his own skin. 

"Happy birthday, sweetheart." Bucky lets Steve tug him close and even closer, until they are tangled up in each other and the July morning grows warm around them, long and syrup-slow and sweet.


End file.
